Texans - legislation alert

This came across my farmcollie email list. I'm not in TX, but thought those who are might want to know. A bill has been introduced which amends a law regarding sterilization of cats and dogs to include basically all dogs and cats in the state, with some exceptions. Section 830 is the relevant section and is new:
http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/81R/billtext/html/SB01845I.htm

Basically, unless you have a purebred dog/cat which is shown in conformation exhibition, and you intend to breed said animal, you are required to spay or neuter the animal BY SEPTEMBER 1, 2009. If you do intend to breed your show dog, you must purchase a permit for $300 per animal. Other exemptions include animals under six months of age, animals with a veterinary waiver that sterilization would be harmful, and service animals.

Anyone with working stockdogs, hunting dogs, livestock guardian dogs or other dogs not bred to a conformation standard (i.e. AKC show dogs) would be required to sterilize their animals before September 1st. Basically, the way the bill appears to read, dogs that farms and ranches consider useful would not be allowed to be bred under this law, unless they are also purebred and shown in conformation.

One wonders how many intact dogs/cats there are in TX, and how many vets and whether vets will have time to do anything other than spay/neuters in order to bring everyone into "compliance" by September 1st.